Corruption in the March-Out Process?

Question: Has anyone raised the issue of the significant potential for corruption in the march-out process? Let me explain. We recently got a guy in to clean our oven (I was clearly useless) and he asked us if it was a march-out clean – it was not. We asked him if he did march-outs and his reply was interesting. He stated that his company did not do military march-outs as they were not prepared to pay the ‘backhanders’ that were demanded by those individuals who managed the march-outs.

Nor is this the first case of that type of incident on this patch. A year or so ago on the same patch, there was an old boy who cleaned windows and did march-out cleanups. The word went out that he was not to do cleanup as he was not ‘approved’ by the local march-out supervisor. Not surprisingly most of the locals kept using him but for some reason the standards demanded were somewhat higher than that expected of other ‘approved’ cleaners.

Another example was a few years ago when we moved and the march-out supervisor recommended some cleaners as they were supposed to be very good and advised us not to go to others as they ‘were not up to standard’. We paid the cleaner £200 and then had to move early letting our next door neighbour do the actual march-out. As it was, our house failed on windows, the oven and the floor. We rang up the cleaners demanding to know what went wrong but they stated they would finished the job – we said only too right as we had stopped the cheque. Interestingly the march-out supervisor was more shocked we had done that than the cleaners were!

The whole issue of march-out cleaning would appear to be open for corrupt practises but apart from the comment by our recent oven cleaner, I have no proof apart from hearsay. However, what do others think – am I right or wrong?

 

Mmmm - some things never change.

I have known some estate wardens to only recommend cleaning firms owned by their wives. Kerching!

As an OC I used to insist on a unit officer attending every march-out to keep an eye on this sort of thing. A pain in the ass, waste of resources and time but really p*ssed off the estate wardens. Saved troops a fortune.

 

I cover my arse now as much as possible. On the damages/remarks paperwork that you have two weeks to complete when marching in I now list the following:

All Carpets - Light stains (It's a fair one if I make a genuine mess on the carpet).
All Walls - Marked with picture hooks and nails.
Cooker - Dirty
Windows - Dirty
Garden - Over grown.

etc etc etc.

There were no problems when i handed over my last quarter, but then the estate warden was a top lass anyway.

 

So who should grip this issue and sort it out, particularly as there is no 'unit' here to watch things? Personally I'm appalled.

 

There's been corruption like this around for donkeys years.
When I passed out of training I got billed about £20 for a new mattress as mine was found to have a small puncture hole to the underside (caused by the metal bed springs).

I said fine, I'll pay it. But I'm having the mattress.
"No way" said the admin guy.
"Well what am I paying for then? A repair?" I said.
"No" he says "you're paying for a replacement mattress".
"Fine" I said, "But if I'm paying for a mattress, then I want to keep it".
I didn't want them issuing the same mattress to another trainee and pocketing yet another £20.

They eventually let me off the charges.

I wonder how many times they'd got away with that particular scam.

 

Ive seen that too, in the Camberley area!

 

Myth busters ?


How many know of Pvt Smith returning to hid "Old" quater as aCpl who was charged with a broken "window,sink,bath" .?

On his return and request to go back into his old house it was given the OK.

Funny he saw his old- window,sink,bath . With the same damage , took a hammer and smashed it.

Warning - you will pay for this - No I paid 12 years ago (and still have a copy of the bill- right, yes you do). BLA BLA BLA.

Balls the lot.


On the truth side how many of us have hidden the damage prior to a march out?


Stood on a burn in the carpet, painted over hooks,In my case I got good at mixing kiddy putty into different colours to match the holes in the walls .

What the fukk for it was only50 pfennings a hole.

Just to get one over the man I suppose.

 

For me it was being billed and then finding out that no repair, cleaning etc was ever carried out - so where did the cash go? total con.

 

I wonder how many times I have heard that story

If I had a stained mattress for each time I would be able to fill the Atlantic Conveyor 3 times over

 

Well done for bringing this old chestnut up, fella. Accommodation Services IMO are corrupt, and always have been. Remember the ASU's (SS) unit in Germany, Ireland, and UK back in the 1980's? Cnuts to a man, frightening and upsetting the wife while we were at work?

Why do you all put up with it then? May I ask?

Why are they allowed to get away with it all? Granted, Omagh, 1987, we celebrated a certain sergeant knocking the ASU boss flat on his sanctimonious chin. A great day for us all and we toasted him in the Mess that night.

These over zealous and otherwise useless individuals rank alongside other civilian employees and businesses with their noses in the great MOD trough. Their "suit" and position, in their mind, always entitled them to slap us with bills for cleaning, repairs "damages" and anything else they could find.

Degrading the family on march out, inspecting everything like a deranged little Hitler in front of the poor misses who'd scrubbed and done her best with the shoite they gave us in substandard pig holes the MOD made us live in.

Minden 1990. One of the worst batch of married quarters anyone had seen, ever. Kitchens unfit for use, homes barely fit for occupation.

But the best news I ever got was meeting one of those fools when Minden closed, reduced to flogging vacuum cleaners, door to door, in Minden, 1991. Probably because he was always going to be nothing more than a jumped up twerp without any skills or talent.

Perfect then, for accommodation services and bullying wives

Rant over, time for a pint. I'll get my coat.

 

That happened several times at Leconfield ans Deepcut while I was there as a recruit, I got away with it when I handed mine back and then was promptly billed for the iron mark on my counterpane (that was still folded up as I never used it) which probably was handed to the next mug. Depots must make a fortune out of it.

 

It was the same but so blatent in Cyprus between the dates of 2002 - 2004.

We failed after paying so I contacted the Garrison QM who was my last OC and for some reason I got a refund from the company in Dhekelia?!

Why a refund for the initial bill and no bill was raised against me?!!!

The wife never got the refund or does she know about it to this day...another one in the stash bank!

 

How much more evidence do local commanders and those at the top need, then? And what are they going to do about it?

People appear to be getting ripped off, and it's been going on for decades.

 

I do not doubt the double billing scam, we have all seen it in operation

It’s all the people walking away from the stores with the piece of kit in question that is rarer than a Dodo getting a piggyback from a unicorn

 

Never really had a bad march out. They let me off with a cot mattress once but it really was stupid having flock mattresses for cots anyway. Of course the baby is going to crap or puke all over it.

I came back from exercise once and found that my missus had managed to bleach a brand new carpet in the bedroom. Gone from a shitty greeny colour to a shitty yellow colour. Told the guy on pre march out and he said what you pay for it depends on how clean the place is etc.

It cost me about two quid. Result! That was Detmold 1977.